In Defense of the ISR

I was recently asked about the Halleuyah Scriptures video attacking ISR and responded with the following:

The facts as I understand them:

1. Chris Koster owned rights to the Scriptures version published by ISR. He died in 1996 leaving the ISR in oversight of his intellectual rights and commissioning them not to let the vision die and to keep the Scriptures version in print indefinitely.

2. ISR is the only organization authorized by Koster to maintain the intellectual rights of the Scriptures version and keep it in print.

3. ISR does not aim at turning a profit on the ISR Scriptures, but only at selling each printing for enough to ensure future printings, this accounting for inflation and other variables. This is the surest way to maintain their commission from Koster.

4. It is necessary to copyright Scripture translations so as to maintain intellectual rights over the material to prevent its misuse and defacement by others. For example maintaining a copyright prevents the Mormons from printing an edition of the Scriptures that implements the Translation changes made by Joseph Smith jr. in his "Inspired Version" or from a non Sacred Name group hijacking the translation and printing a "Jesus" version of it.

5. Copyrights apply to Scripture translations, trust me I spent about a year last year in a Federal Lawsuit defending the copyright of the HRV from a challenge by The Way International. (One cannot copyright the ancient Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek, but a modern translation of them can be copyrighted).

6. One cannot say "YHWH told me to commit piracy so it is OK" otherwise we can all do anything wa want and say "YHWH told me to..."

7. The Church of God Philadelphia made the argument that Herbert W. Armstrong's intent that his books be distributed without charge allowed them after his death to hijack the rights and publish it free themselves since the organization owning the rights did not do so. The argument failed and this plainly violates international Copyright Law. (http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1193707.html)

8. Although ISR does not sell the Scriptures version for a profit, it would not be a Torah violation if they did (nor would it violate Mat. 10:8) as the International Nazarene Beit Din recently ruled: